Visiting a Fallen Hero

Today, my family and I had the privilege of visiting with Beverly Kohl, the volunteer from Oklahoma who suffered a major spinal cord injury while volunteering in Baton Rouge during the recovery of Hurricane Gustav. Beverly’s sisters, Janie and Chris were very gracious and told us all about Beverly and her background. She is a retired nurse with a tremendous heart for serving our Lord and His people. She has volunteered 6 months on a Mercy Ship in Africa, served on other mission trips to Nicaragua and was just recently trained to be on the Oklahoma Disaster Recovery Team.

She is currently on a ventilator, has a feeding tube and the only movement she has is in her arms and hands. I spoke to her briefly and was able to tell her Fellowship Church and all of the disaster relief volunteers that knew of her story were thinking of her and praying for her complete recovery. She smiled and mouthed, “thank you.” We even got a laugh from her when Janie told her she was famous because I had googled her on the internet and found an article written by a Tulsa Newspaper.

Beverly does not know this, but the private medical insurance policy that she took out for $2million, only covers $25,000 per occurrence. She needs to be moved to a Specialty Spinal Cord Rehab Center, but it will cost $20,000 to transport her with a ventilator. The hospital in Baton Rouge agreed to absorb the transportation cost, but they cannot find a rehab center that will accept her with a ventilator or accept her without insurance. She doesn’t qualify for Medicaid and is not yet old enough to receive Medicare.

They have sent multiple petitions to the state of Oklahoma in the hope that someone will hear their plea and find a rehabilitation center in Oklahoma that will accept her without insurance. She asked that I post the link to their website http://www.voilesfamily.com/ for updates on Beverly. There is a headline on the Oct 18 update listing important information they want to get out to as many people as possible stating what people can do to help.
I feel I have a special bond with this family and they have a special place in my heart as I have been hospitalized out of state several times and know what it is like to rely on the kindness of strangers for some small comforts of home. Now that we have met them and know their needs, we will try to make their stay as comfortable as possible while they are here.
Please continue to pray with me for Beverly and her family and that God will give them the physical, emotional and spiritual strength they need get through this difficult time.